Regardless, if Young Lord Rogers had overstepped when he seized your daughter by her wrist and refused to let go even when she demanded it, the extreme violence she responded with has escalated this matter from simply being an issue of self-defense to something bordering on attempted murder. Even now, the academy Biomancers are unsure if Young Lord Rogers will pull through.

We understand that you might be uncomfortable facing the graphic nature of the following report, but we insist that you read it regardless, so you understand just how extreme your daughter's actions were.

After Young Lord Rogers refused to let your daughter go following a final and extremely crass warning, she did not attempt any measure of de-escalation. Instead, she pressed her hands over his face and channeled Pyromancy directly into Young Lord Rogers' eyes, blinding him immediately. As he collapsed, she placed both hands over his ears, formed icicles on the insides, and then burst them, dealing severe damage to not only his eardrums but also his inner skull.

At this point, Young Lord Rogers' cousin, Young Lady Alyssa, rose from her seat in the mess hall. According to multiple eyewitnesses, Young Lady Alyssa might have used profanity on your daughter, but Young Lady Alyssa made no overt or violent attempts to attack your daughter, nor was there any indication that she was going to do so. This makes it all the more egregious when your daughter used her Aeromancy to fling Young Lord Rogers directly into Young Lady Alyssa's face, thus shattering both her cheekbone and her nose. This turned out to be the least of Young Lady Alyssa's injuries, as your daughter proceeded to drop part of the ceiling on them using her Geomancy.

As of now, both Young Lord Rogers and Young Lady Alyssa are fighting for their lives in the school infirmary, and your daughter currently sits within our brig. We ask that you deliver yourself to Phoenix Academy with all haste to attend to these matters and settle affairs with House Roger before this incident can escalate further…

-Letter of Reprimand for Young Lady Roselle Van Erren, Phoenix Academy

152 (I)

Undercover

Shiv couldn't believe this shit. "What the hells do you mean she got into a fight with Whisper? She just went into the cape."

"Yes," Uva said, sounding exasperated herself. "She went into the cape and immediately tried to gouge out his eyes. Apparently, they have history." A brief pause followed. "More than a little history. Whisper murdered someone dear to Adam's mother, and now she is swearing eternal bloody vengeance. Meanwhile, the orcs are just staring at her with their fangs in wide smiles."

That didn't sound good.

"Have they tried to do anything?" Shiv asked.

"No. In fact, they're taking special pleasure in goading her. I think they're treating this as a game."

Shiv sighed as he considered pulling Rose out. However, an unexpected individual intervened on her behalf.

"Keep her here," Valor said.

That caught Shiv entirely off guard.

"What?" Adam gasped. He was listening in on the conversation. And Shiv could feel an ocean's worth of anxiety bleeding over from the Gate Lord. However, Adam didn't have the nerve to assert himself over his mother. A lifetime without her had left him with deep mental scars, mental scars that she was currently exploiting to strong-arm herself into a position on this mission. And now Valor was vouching for her for some reason.

"Let her stay," Valor repeated again. "She apparently has deep insight into our enemy, this City Lord Havel. Her personal history there will be most useful. Furthermore, she is an experienced Pathbearer. She may not have many skills right now, but she knows how the Republic operates, knows the structure of the Inquisition and the tactics they might use."

Shiv frowned. "Couldn't Uva just pull out some of those memories?"

"Not nearly so fast," Uva said, hesitant. "Not without damaging her mind if we rush this."

"And it wouldn't be the same," Valor added. "Those are not Uva's experiences. It would take her months to years to properly learn the context and sift through all the details."

"Alright, fine, shit. Well, if she's going to be in there, just keep her away from the orcs. The Forest of Alloy is larger than before, right?"

"Indeed," Valor said. "We have a great deal more space here. However, the materials are constantly regrowing and spreading as well. Can Hu is trying to start up a factory of some sort as well. Perhaps it can build a specialized shelter for her there."

"Okay, but in the meantime, just keep her away from the orcs. No more problems between her and Whisper. If either of them starts something, I'm jumping back to the gate and chucking both of them out."

A grunt of annoyance came from Uva. "She wants to be part of the conversation as well."

"What, mentally?"

"Yes." Uva sighed. "Mentally."

Shiv hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine, link her."

Uva synchronized him with Rose's mind. He was startled as he realized just how much anger was in the woman. Rose Van Erren was boiling from the inside out. She hated Whisper. She hated the orcs. And most importantly, she hated herself for being weak right then. Just through that alone, Shiv realized why she wanted to be a part of this operation. She was looking for high risk. She wanted to build her skills back up, and fast. Which meant that she was accompanying him for the same reasons the orcs were.

Shiv frowned. "Hey. Did you tell her that I'm System-favored?"

Adam blinked. "I... Perhaps? I briefly recounted everything we've gone through." And then his eyes widened. "Do you think that's why she wants to go with you? To advance her skills quicker?"

"Yeah," Shiv replied. "Something like that."

"It's simply the most optimal thing," Rose said, injecting herself into their conversation. "Now stop wasting time. Get moving. And someone explain to me the general plan here. We're not just going to walk up to the Inquisition and surrender ourselves, are we?"

"No," Shiv said as he held up his Mask of False Paths. "I've got a Perfect Semblance to assume. And there are several other mind-controlled Inquisitors we're going to dump on Stormhalt. It's going to look like we escaped from Necrotech custody."

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As Rose took in the plan, a building weight of suspicion swelled inside of her. "Did you damage their devotion skills?"

Shiv paused. "The hells is a Devotion Skill?"

"You don't know what a Devotion skill is?" Rose scoffed. "You're going to want to break that before you send them over. It lets the Ascendants channel their power through a Pathbearer, at least as much power as they can sustain. It also lets the Ascendants review everything that's happened to the Pathbearer directly through the skill itself. If you're dealing with Inquisitors, they likely have Oracles, Seers, Diviners, or Investigators. Oracles are especially a fucking annoyance to deal with since they can invoke the power of their respective deities. It's practically their entire deal."

She looked at Adam, and the Gate Lord nodded. "Well, I suppose we should do that before we leave, then."

Valor called out to Shiv, asking to be let out of the Cape. "Best that I assist Adam, so that the damage seems more spread out, instead of specifically targeted. Otherwise, it will seem suspicious for them to only be so damaged in one area."

"And already I'm here saving you kids from your fuckups." Rose chuckled to herself. "Now. Explain the rest of your terrible plan to me so I can tell you which parts are shit, and which aren't."

***

"All right," Adam said as he pulled back a Veilpiercer. His eyes were glowing as he stared off into the distance. "The sun will be up soon, so Uva needs to stay hidden. I caught sight of some Inquisition scouts. They're closer than I expected. And they're moving fast. I'm going to adjust your positioning a little. It'll be thirty kilometers closer to us and a few hundred meters away from the Tidewall. I don't think it'll be any issue, but just be mindful of where you are. Use Margarita Point as a landmark in case you get lost."

"Got it." Beside Shiv were seven other Inquisitors, all staring on with vacant gazes and slack expressions. Their faces were scabbed with dried blood and recently healed cuts. Their armor had been taken away, and they were dressed in tattered rags, some of which were bloodstained. Others were sour with urine and other sources of foulness. Ultimately, it looked like they'd recently escaped from hell, which was exactly the image Shiv wanted to sell.

"All right, going over everything one final time, remember this. First, you're going to encounter the skirmishers and scouts. When you do, say that you managed to escape with your cohort. What do you say, Shiv?"

Shiv gritted his teeth in annoyance. This was the tenth time Adam asked him to recite the lines. "I know what to say."

"Just do it again, Shiv. Go through it again, so I'm absolutely confident."

"Alright, so when they find me, I'm going to tell them that I managed to break out from a Necrotech internment camp before they could shuttle us down into the Abyss. I will tell them that I suffered severe torture. That my comrades suffered severe torture. That I managed to escape because they thought I was already dead. Hence why I'm better dressed and why my skills are mostly intact. After that, I'll tell them Sullain has the Animancy Core, and he intends to use it on Blackedge at any moment. Probably tell them he kidnapped Sijik too and shit."

"Good," Adam said.

"And if any of them try to use Psychomancy on us, I'll warn them off. Say that the Necrotechs planted things in our minds specifically to harm enemy Psychomancers."

"Right, that should buy you some time and get you moved closer to their main camp," Adam said, nodding. "Once you're there, make contact with City Lord Havel if you can. Gather as much intelligence about their forces as possible, tell them about the Animancy Core again, make sure they're going in the direction of Lost Angeles to fight the Necrotechs, and then jump back. When you're done, do not wait, do not linger, simply jump back."

"If I find an opening, I'll let the orcs out and do some damage," Shiv said.

"If," Adam stressed, "if. That is secondary. That is only if there is an opportunity. Do not risk yourself, and by extension," Adam stared hard at him, "do not risk the people going with you."

"Yeah, I know, Adam. And if you had the godsdamn balls to tell your mom that she wasn't going—"

"If I had the godsdamn balls?" Adam snapped. "Why don't you tell her?"

"I did tell her, and she went in anyway."

"And why didn't you stop her?"

"Really? You're just going to have me grab your mom and pull her out? What are you going to do if she attacks me?"

"She can't even hurt you!" Adam shot back.

"She can hurt my feelings, Adam. What matters more to you? My feelings or hers?"

"Hers!"

"You see, Adam, you never changed. You're still the same asshole that first fell down the Abyss, still treating me like an Omenborn."

Adam glared at Shiv with narrowed eyes. He was no longer drawing his arrow back. "Really. You're doing this right now?"

"Is the guilt-tripping working?" Shiv asked, raising an eyebrow.

Adam let out a slightly hissed, "Yes."

***

Inside the Garden, Rose shuddered as she heard Harlon's boy speak to her Adam. She swallowed and tried to compose herself, leaning back against a tree made from titanium bark and copper leaves. The lich—Udraal Thann's supposed father—watched her, standing as her guard against the orcs.

"If you feel uneasy—" he began.

"It's not that," Rose breathed. She swallowed sour spit as she tried not to think about what had happened. "It's like the past keeps taunting me."

Valor tilted his head. "How?"

"Adam. Shiv. They sound like Harlon and Roland from years before. Almost exactly. Almost…" Rose tried to calm herself by focusing on her breathing. It didn't work. "Fuck me. Godsdamned fucking System brought me back just to hit me with trauma."

"I don't think the System brought you back," Valor whispered. "But I think I understand what you mean when you speak of ghosts."

***

Adam rolled his eyes and drew his arrow back. "Get your mask on. Go across before my courage collapses entirely."

And Shiv did just that. He lifted his helmet and placed the Mask of False Paths on his head. In an instant, his Perfect Semblance triggered, and he was Inquisitor Morgan Hyde: Master-Tier; Path of the Archer, with around twenty Adept Skills and two Master Skills.

Shiv briefly looked through Morgan Hyde's status sheet and reviewed the most critical details one final time. As soon as that was done, he felt Uva's mana strand tap him twice on the mask before receding, confirming her readiness. He shifted the Forest so that no one would be able to directly drop in if they fell into his cape for whatever reason.

With that done, he reached out using his Biomancy and seized the other Inquisitors. As he grasped them using his mana hydras, their bodies didn't resist. Adam fired his arrow in that instant, and a rift opened before them. The Inquisitors remained slack and limp, responding to Shiv's power as he nudged them through the dimensional pathway. He followed thereafter with a tug on his gravitic field, but before he could cross over entirely, Adam called out, "Shiv."

"Yeah?" he said, turning around.

The Gate Lord's mouth opened, but for a moment, he just managed a nervous sigh. "Just be careful. Be very, very careful. Keep my mom safe. And everyone else. And yourself."

The Deathless held up a fist. "See you soon, Adam. And if this goes well, Blackedge will get some very unwitting reinforcements, and your dad will get a moment to breathe."

Shiv didn't turn back again as he ferried the Inquisitors across the pathway. As he reached the other side, he found himself emerging over a sprawling green meadow, overshadowed by the Tidewall. He released the other inquisitors and looked to his left, searching for Margarita Point.

His gaze followed a mountain trail leading upward until finally, the glow of an active gateway lit the pre-dawn sky. With his position confirmed, he began herding the inquisitors along with him, moving them using his Biomancy field. They staggered forward, some of them toppling over, requiring Shiv to reset them several times. He adopted the posture of a starved, exhausted man.

"Come on!" he shouted. "Come on, just a little more! We're almost there, just a little more!"

And after a few minutes of loudly "fleeing," something impacted the ground right in front of him.

Dirt splashed upwards. And as he looked down, he found an arrow embedded right beside his left foot. As he looked up, he saw no traces of the shooter, but sight was only one of his senses. He triggered his new armor's Pheromonic Cipher, and he followed a scent he tasted in the air, a scent that resembled his and his fellow Inquisitors'. It led four hundred meters away, up along the edge of a small hill.

As he activated his Compound Ocular Network thereafter, his sight zoomed in, and he saw a slight shimmer in the air. Six bodies stood there, nearly entirely transparent, aside from a few wispy threads of air painting their contours. They were using Aeromancy to bend light itself, making themselves invisible. Underneath his mask, Shiv smirked as he gained a new Awareness level.

Awareness 39 > 40

Bribery or not, Helix was pretty thoughtful, giving me this armor. Really makes up for some of my weakest skills.

"Keep your arms by your sides. Do not move," a voice echoed from the horizon. Shiv frowned as he realized that wasn't the direction the shooters were in, and then he realized there were probably several other groups all around him as well. Where there was one Shadow, there was probably another.

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